According to the Georgian Vice Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani, the local self-government elections scheduled for 2 October will be monitored by international observation missions.
 
The Vice Prime Minister said that the Georgian government started preparations for the elections as early as in April. Formal invitations were sent to all international observer missions, including the OSCE/ODIHR EOM, as well as to all international organizations and partner countries. "Two invitations were sent, one in April, before the election date was announced, and the other – immediately after the election date was officially announced" - Zalkaliani added.
 
According to him, the leaders of the OSCE/ODIHR EOM are in Tbilisi and a meeting with them has already been held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "We help them address all organizational matters and provide them with all conditions for normal functioning, including amid the pandemic. The experience we gained from the previous elections also helps us in this" said the Foreign Minister.
 
The OSCE/ODIHR EOM will assign 350 short-term observers to monitor the election process in Georgia,  “however, it is expected that the number of observers this time will be much higher than in previous elections, as the Foreign Ministry sent official invitations to the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Council of Europe, NATO and OSCE, as well as to various international organizations” – said the Minister.
 
“We’ll do our utmost to ensure that international observers do their work safely and in normal conditions” – added the Minister.

MFA of Georgia

Parliament’s July 12 decision to approve six Supreme Court judicial nominations, despite an explicit agreement by Georgia’s political leaders in the April 19 Agreement to “refrain from making appointments to the Supreme Court under existing rules”, is extremely disappointing. Unfortunately, this nomination and appointment process, and the failure to undertake inclusive, comprehensive judicial reform, fell short of the commitment Georgia’s leaders, including the ruling party, made to implement the April 19 Agreement in good faith.

The parties agreed to conduct ambitious judicial reform through a broad, transparent process that includes legal experts, civil society, and opposition parties. Unilateral legislative changes, including those adopted against the advice of international partners while the April 19 Agreement was being negotiated, are inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Agreement. In particular, the early April amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts failed to fully address Venice Commission recommendations, including a key recommendation related to staggering judicial appointments. 

The failure to pause the appointment process until after comprehensive judicial reform could take place has real consequences. Legal experts and civil society organizations have highlighted that Parliament’s flawed process did not advance the most qualified nominees, resulting in less-qualified judges receiving lifetime appointments on the court. As a July 9 report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) found, this nomination process, “took place in an environment where there is a lack of public trust in the independence of the judiciary,” and “applications, background checks, and interviews established by the High Council of Justice for these nominations fell short of international standards.” Given this context, it was imperative that Parliament pause the appointment process to allow for inclusive, comprehensive reform reflecting the input of legal experts, civil society, and opposition. Parliament had the authority to do so and a pause would not have unduly burdened the judiciary’s operation. The decision not to do so is therefore very concerning and constitutes a significant missed opportunity to strengthen confidence in Georgia’s judiciary and advance its democratic development.      

The United States stands ready to continue our efforts to support Parliament and the people of Georgia in credible efforts to strengthen the judicial system and the rule of law in Georgia.

President Salome Zourabichvili held a meeting today at the Orbeliani Palace with H.E. Helga Maria Schmid, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, during which the two leaders agreed on the President’s initiative to hold a conference of women leaders in Georgia to promote the role of women in peace and security. The sides also discussed the upcoming municipal elections and stressed the importance of the participation of election observation missions especially the OSCE/ODIHR EOM.

The sides also discussed the occupied territories, including the deteriorating of the humanitarian situation following the closure of crossing points by the de facto regime, human rights violations and kidnappings by the occupation regime, the case of Zaza Gakheladze, and the need to strengthen the Geneva International Discussions to increase the effectiveness of the format.

President Zourabichvili and Secretary General Schmid also touched on the regional situation and stressed Georgia’s role in ensuring regional peace and stability. 

News Releases of the President administration

On May 11, 2021 OSCE Regional Conference on Countering Terrorist Financing and Transnational Organized Crime was held. The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and Economics of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD).

OSCE participating States from Central Asia and from other parts of the OSCE area, senior experts from the academia, private sector and civil society, as well as from the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations were invited to participate in the conference.

During the presentations, the participants noted the need for further expansion of cooperation between the OSCE participating states for a timely response to the challenges and threats of our time.

Within the framework of the conference, the experts presented international experience in the field of countering the financing of terrorism, noting the important role of strengthening cooperation and information exchange between all stakeholders from the public and non-governmental sectors. During the hands-on exercises, the participants discussed in groups case studies related to the investigation of terrorist financing cases by the efforts of financial and criminal intelligence.

On April 14, 2021, in a hybrid format, a meeting of the OSCE Committee on the Economic and Environmental Dimension was held on the topic "Biodiversity and security - the consequences of environmental degradation for security, including the reduction of biodiversity." The meeting was attended by the adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Ambassador M. Akmuradov.

 In his speech, M. Akmuradov informed the participants about the policy of Turkmenistan to save the Aral Sea and improve the ecological and socio-economic situation in the region.

In particular, he noted that Turkmenistan, being a supporter of a systematic approach to solving the issues of the Aral Sea problem at the national, regional and international levels, for decades has been carrying out a number of practical measures aimed at ensuring a high level of environmental conditions in the country.

At the same time, Turkmenistan is consistently promoting in the international arena initiatives and proposals aimed at consolidating the efforts of the countries of the region and the international community to address the overall Aral Sea problem.

Further, the diplomat informed the participants in detail about the experience of Turkmenistan in improving the ecological state of the Caspian Sea and creating conditions for sustainable development of the region.

"Georgia is a strong partner of OSCE in resolving conflicts, as well as within the OSCE concept of security encompassing 3 dimensions”-  the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden, Ann Linde said following her meeting with the Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Zalkaliani.
 
According to the Swedish diplomat, Georgia and OSCE should play an important role in establishing peace and security in the region. She reaffirmed strong support for Georgia’s constructive participation in this significant effort.
 
Ann Linde stressed that active engagement in Russia-Georgia conflict resolution process is one of the key priorities of the Swedish chairmanship of OSCE.
 
In her words, the challenges facing the European security should be resolved by adhering to OSCE principles and commitments, as well as through dialogue and engagement. “OSCE has long been playing an important role in Georgia through its active engagement in the Geneva International Discussions and the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism. We hope that we can provide an important assistance to the conflict-affected population and enact an instrument needed for a dialogue and de-escalation of the conflict and strengthen the democratic institutions of Georgia” - Ann Linde said.
 
According to Ann Linde, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, Co-chair of the Geneva International Discussions, Annika Söder will play an important role in this regard.  
 
Within the framework of her visit to Georgia, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office will hold meetings with the Georgian President, Salome Zourabichvili, Speaker of Parliament, Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian PM, Giorgi Gakharia. Ann Linde is also to visit the village of Khurvaleti.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

According to him, Russia never takes such steps spontaneously. Rather, it is following its own plan. “The maximum escalation of the situation is part of the hybrid war Russia is waging against Georgia and this war has its foreign-political and domestic dimensions” – the Deputy Minister said.

On December 3, 2020, the 27th meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) began in the format of a videoconference, in the capital of the Republic of Albania, Tirana.

 The Turkmen delegation was headed by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R. Meredov.

 The agenda of the meeting is very busy. On the first day of the meeting, the addresses of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the President of the Organization's Parliamentary Assembly were heard. The report of the OSCE Secretariat was also presented to the attention of the participants. This was followed by plenary sessions, during which the heads of delegations, heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the OSCE participating States and the partner countries for cooperation made statements.

 The parties assessed the current level of cooperation in political, economic, environmental and humanitarian directions in the OSCE area. Special attention was paid to security issues, protection of human rights and freedoms, and the fight against the global pandemic. The need to strengthen the work of the OSCE through closer coordination and cooperation, improved strategic planning and openness to reform was emphasized.

 Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan reaffirmed Turkmenistan's commitment to multifaceted cooperation with the OSCE. The participants were presented with specific proposals to improve cooperation on the OSCE platform, in particular, in the field of social, economic, environmental and energy security.

 "Our country will continue to make every effort to establish the principles of international law, the ideals of humanism, justice, tolerance, mutual respect as factors that determine modern relations between states," R. Meredov said.

Speaking today at the 27th online-meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan R. Meredov reflected the vision of the leadership of Turkmenistan on the concept of security.

 In particular, it was noted that the conceptual approaches of Turkmenistan to ensuring security and stability were repeatedly voiced in the speeches of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the platforms of the UN, OSCE and other authoritative international organizations. “They are based on the principle of integrity and indivisibility of security, which means for us the continuity and interdependence of such elements as political, economic, food, environmental and other types of security,” the Minister noted.

 Speaking about the negative consequences of the global pandemic and the state of security in the world, the head of the foreign policy agency of Turkmenistan proposed to consider the possibilities of preparing the OSCE Common Security Strategy - a new international legal mechanism aimed at resolving a number of interrelated political, socio-economic and humanitarian tasks.

 In this context, the importance of restoring trust in international politics was emphasized; the UN General Assembly resolution was highlighted according to which, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, 2021 was declared the International Year of Peace and Trust. The plans of Turkmenistan to organize the International Forum of Peace and Trust, “which will allow to outline the ways to the full and comprehensive establishment of a culture of peace and trust in international relations as the basis of a strong and stable security system,” noted R.Meredov.

 During the speech, he also noted the uniqueness and effectiveness of the policy of permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan, which calls for an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial international partnership. The Turkmen delegation expressed Turkmenistan's readiness to take an active part in the development of new concepts and strategies in the field of peacebuilding and peacekeeping, using its experience of positive neutrality.

Speaking today at the OSCE Ministerial Council held online, the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan R.Meredov underlined the importance of nature protection and climate change issues. As is known, the ecological safety is one of the priority spheres of cooperation between the countries within the OSCE. 

The head of Turkmen delegation stated the importance of search for effective and modern resolutions of ecological problems. In this regard, the proposal was voiced on the preparation of the Comprehensive Ecological Programme of OSCE which will help to concretize the priorities of the Organization in the nature protection field.  

“Such Programme could become a good basis for the development of projects in the area of protection and rational use of the interior, land and water resources in the OSCE member states,” said Minister Meredov.